Mood Indigo is IIT Bombay’s Annual Cultural fest and one of the most reputed in the country. It started in 1971 and has grown to be a synonym for a host of the country’s best talent!

I participated in Mood Indigo in my college days and experienced a national level with such a high quality for the first time. Amongst all the wins in my college days, winning the solo singing MI Idol was a keepsake in my memory box. I sang the ghazal by Lata didi ” Woh Chup Rahe To’ in the finals and was excited to get an applause from all the celebrity judges. Little did I know that I might be in that seat one day.

Today, I was invited to judge the Mood Indigo Idol from Pune City. As expected IITB’s volunteers had planned the event perfectly. Sitting in the judges’ seat, all the memories of participating over so many years came running to me. Hours of standing in a line to get in, spending days to decide on that perfect song for the competition, fighting to master stage fright, getting nervous on hearing all the other participants practice, boosting from friends & family and ultimately getting on the stage and realising that only those 2 minutes of your performance matter. No-one knows the past and future minutes of your life before and after your performance. It is those 2 minutes where you have to enthral everyone with your voice & performance.

Whether a competition is good or bad for art is a statement for debate but having done it in all sorts, (school, state, national, TV), I personally believe that such competitions help a lot to shape your music and your personality in general. We also are made aware for our own sake of the talent that exists beyond us. I have gained so much from participating in such huge events. And today, being invited as a judge in one of the most prestigious competitions, made me feel all the efforts were worth it.

Would you like to know more on how a competition like this is judged ? I would love to share my personal experience in detail in another new blog!